Strength is Power

Five figures, embodying their divine powers, sat in a grand hall—they were the leaders of the Five Great Families.

"Mo Li Meng has already left Luo He's residence," Commander Mo Li Xao, with his slightly aged appearance and purple, crown-like curved horns, said calmly, "Luo He was ambushed by an assasin. He suspects that we sent the assassin, and he refused the position of 'Deputy Commander of the Hu Yang Army.'"

"We sent Mo Li Meng to explain, which was already a sign of goodwill towards Luo He," the Lord of Hu Yang City frowned slightly. "Offering him the position of Deputy Commander of the Hu Yang Army is the highest rank we can bestow. Any higher, like City Lord or Commander, must be appointed directly by the royal capital."

The position they offered was practically the third highest in Hu Yang City. Higher positions were beyond the Five Great Families' authority to appoint. This was the greatest sincerity they could offer.

"We gave him a chance to reconcile, but he refused," the white-haired figure shook his head lightly.

"We made the first concession, yet he rejected it," the figure clad in blood-red scales said coldly. "We, the Five Great Families, consist of two royal clans and three major chaotic families. We silenced the opposing voices within our clans and took a step back, yet he still wouldn't accept our goodwill."

As the leader of the Wu Clan, a royal family branch in Hu Yang City, Wu Qulou naturally possessed pride. Their willingness to step back was purely because Luo Feng's strength was formidable. The leaders of the Five Great Families knew very well that regardless of one's background, an opponent's strength must be respected.

"We took a step back, but Luo He refuses to retreat," the leader of the Mei Wu Clan, with branches and leaves growing from his body, exuding a strong life force, said leisurely. "We can see the bigger picture, but the many Eternal True Gods under us can't swallow this insult."

Everyone present understood this point.

As the leaders of their family branches in Hu Yang City, they were quite outstanding. However, their numerous clan members under them were quite ordinary. After endless years of indulgence, those clan members had long become accustomed to their high status and found it even harder to tolerate the challenge posed by Luo He.

The leaders of the Five Great Families had to consider the sentiments within their clans.

"We gave him a chance, and he didn't take it! Then we'll just have to pay the price to get rid of him," the blood-red-scaled figure said indifferently. "Even if we can't kill him, we need to force him into hiding like Xue Yun, so he never dares show his face again."

Xue Yun, the leader of the Shiguo forces, had been in hiding for a long time. If he exposed himself, the Five Great Families would immediately hunt him down. In Hu Yang City, the Five Great Families had the advantage, forcing Xue Yun into hiding.

"Wu, I've said before, we should hire a powerful outsider to kill him," the leader of the Mei Wu Clan chuckled. "In the vast territory of Yu Nation, there are plenty of experts, many stronger than Xue Yun or Luo He."

"I don't agree with this," Commander Mo Li Xao said coldly.

"Mo Li, you can endure this?" the blood-red-scaled figure sneered. "You may be able to endure it, but we of the Wu Clan cannot."

The Wu Clan, being a royal family, naturally had a different kind of arrogance.

"Xue Yun is the leader of the Shiguo forces, and we are mortal enemies. But Luo He is just a wandering Eternal True God, and there's no need to push him to the enemy's side," Commander Mo Li Xao said indifferently. "Even if we bring in an outside expert, you all know very well—defeating him is easy, but killing him is hard! If Luo He escapes the assassination, he will only hate us even more. Having a hidden enemy always lurking around… is not a good thing."

"We don't care about Shiguo, so why should we fear one Luo He?" the blood-red-scaled figure snorted. "Lord Qu Meng, what do you think?"

"We took a step back, and he ignored it. For the stability of the Five Great Families, I think we should take action," the Lord of Hu Yang City said.

Commander Mo Li Xao gently shook his head.

The white-haired figure also said, "I think we should reconsider."

"If the City Lord and Wu agree, then we can finalize this matter," the blood-red-scaled figure said.

"The City Lord and Brother Wu both agree, and so do I," the leader of the Mei Wu Clan smiled. "There's no need to debate this further."

The Lord of Hu Yang City came from the royal Qu Meng Clan. Wu Qulou, clad in blood-red scales, was the leader of the Wu Clan, another royal family. These two royal clans in Hu Yang City held a position that subtly overshadowed the three chaotic families, making it impossible for them to tolerate being challenged.

"Then I'll start preparing for this matter," the leader of the Mei Wu Clan said. At the same time, he also purchased all the information on Luo He from the Yan Feng Pavilion. If they were going to take action, they naturally needed to fully understand their opponent.

Intelligence changes with time, so they needed to purchase the latest information.

"In the future, when trouble arises, they'll just hide behind us," Commander Mo Li Xao sighed in frustration. With the decision made by the two royal families and supported by the Mei Wu Clan, he and the Jiang Clan could do nothing to stop it.

"Something's strange!" The leader of the Mei Wu Clan suddenly looked puzzled.

The other four leaders looked at him.

"I tried to purchase the latest information on Luo He from the Yan Feng Pavilion, but his information costs a whopping 5,000 Cosmic Sands," the Mei Wu Clan leader said with some seriousness, looking at his four companions. "Just one piece of information costs this much?"

"When he took action against Qian Yu Chong and Mei Wuqi, I bought his information for only 100 Cosmic Sands," the white-haired figure beside him said in shock. "Not even a night has passed, and the price of his information has skyrocketed like this?"

"All of my information only costs 500 Cosmic Sands," Commander Mo Li Xao found it unbelievable. "Even all of Xue Yun's information only costs 500 Cosmic Sands. But for Luo He… it's 5,000 Cosmic Sands?"

They all knew that the Yan Feng Pavilion's pricing system was carefully set by the Ancient Nation of Yan Feng, following a complete system that never randomly set prices.

"Buy it and see what's going on," the Lord of Hu Yang City ordered.

Five thousand Cosmic Sands didn't concern them. What concerned them was that a single piece of information was priced so high, which made the leaders of the Five Great Families somewhat nervous.

"Alright." The leader of the Mei Wu Clan immediately purchased the information.

After reading it, he couldn't believe it and said, "The Yan Feng Pavilion's report states that an extremely powerful Eternal True God, Ying Cang, died tonight in Luo He's residence."

The Yan Feng Pavilion doesn't sell the information about the transactions made by its clients. However, through karma, they can confirm Ying Cang's death using their methods.

Anyone holding a karmic communication token would instantly have their location confirmed upon death by the Yan Feng Pavilion. Even without the token, as long as there was any connection, they could determine whether the karma existed or not. If it existed, it meant the person was alive. If it disappeared, it meant they were dead.

"Ying Cang died in Luo He's residence?" Everyone present turned pale.

"Ying Cang's strength is undeniable. He possessed more than one mechanical treasure and had comprehended several Chaos-level moves. Moreover, his ability to escape was unparalleled," Commander Mo Li Xao said. "He once killed a child of a Chaos Master in Shiguo, enraging the Chaos Master, who sent elite forces to hunt him down. It's said that he encountered assassination attempts several times and still managed to survive, eventually escaping into our Yu Nation."

Since there was conflict between Yu Nation and Shiguo, the elite forces under the Chaos Master couldn't openly pursue him within Yu Nation's territory.

That Chaos Master had over 300 children, and he saw their deaths as part of a process of trial and error. One child's death didn't warrant too strong a pursuit, which was one reason Ying Cang managed to escape.

If it had been one of those Chaos Masters with only a few children, the death of their child would have led to a much stronger pursuit, with the Chaos Master himself even taking part, possibly inviting friends to help. That would have left no place for Ying Cang to hide.

Even so, Ying Cang's survival had made him famous.

"He managed to survive the pursuit of a Chaos Master's elite forces, but he died in Luo He's residence?" The leaders of the Five Great Families were all shocked.

...

Luo Feng sat leisurely in the pavilion atop the mountain, drinking. Life wasn't just about cultivation. After the fierce battle, Luo Feng only wanted to relax and reflect on himself.

"Hmm?" Luo Feng looked towards the entrance of the residence in confusion. "Mo Li Meng left not long ago; why has he returned?"

Once again, it was Mo Li Meng's flying boat.

Three figures descended—Mo Li Meng, an older man who looked similar but thinner, and a three-eyed man with a purple-gold-scaled tail.

"Mo Li Xao and the City Lord are here?" Luo Feng was very surprised.

The Commander and the City Lord held the highest official positions in Hu Yang City.

"Qing Yan, go open the door," Luo Feng ordered from afar.

"Yes," Mo Yu Qing Yan immediately went to open the main door. Seeing the three figures outside, he couldn't help but be shocked. "Commander Mo Li Xao and the Lord of Hu Yang City?"

As the only gatekeeper currently in the residence, Mo Yu Qing Yan had already received information from his master and was familiar with the Eternal True Gods of Hu Yang City. When such visitors arrived, he could at least recognize them.

"The master invites you in," Mo Yu Qing Yan, who struggling to suppress his nervousness said. When had he ever interacted with commanders and city lords?

"They didn't come to greet us themselves, just sent a servant to open the door. It seems they're still dissatisfied," the Lord of Hu Yang City transmitted to his companion.

"If I had his strength, I'd be even more dissatisfied!" Mo Li Xao replied via transmission.

The City Lord and the Commander flew towards the pavilion on the mountain peak, with Mo Li Meng following behind.

Inside the pavilion, Luo Feng sat there drinking, with several wine jars beside him, indicating he had drunk quite a bit.

"The City Lord and the Commander have both come—what an honor for me," Luo Feng said with a half-smile, "Please, sit."

From beginning to end, Luo Feng remained seated and did not rise. When he thought of how they had allowed Mei Wuqi to massacre billions of citizens, Luo Feng felt no need to stand up.

"Luo He God," the Lord of Hu Yang City said with a sigh, "The matter with Mei Wuqi is indeed our fault. As the City Lord, I can say that within our family, the Eternal True Gods are difficult to control. This time, your actions were good; you've made them truly fearful."

"The Five Great Families should thank Luo He God," Commander Mo Li Xao added. "We will tell the Eternal True Gods in the Five Great Families that you did the right thing. If similar incidents occur in the future, feel free to handle them according to the laws of Yu Nation. We will support you."

Luo Feng was quite surprised.

The Five Great Families were backing down?

"This is our compensation," the City Lord said as he offered a jade bottle. "It contains some items to aid in your cultivation. We hope to resolve any animosity between you and the Five Great Families."

Luo Feng swept his divine sense over the bottle and was astonished.

The bottle contained a lake-like amount of pale white liquid, which was the famous "Yeh Beast Blood" from the Yu Nation, known for helping with the comprehension of Chaos laws. Just this bottle alone, Luo Feng estimated, was worth about a million Cosmic Sands.

"Luo He God, we're sincere in what we say. If any Eternal True God in the Five Great Families commits such an act again, you may deal with them according to the laws of Yu Nation. We will support you," Commander Mo Li Xao said.

"You've got me a bit confused," Luo Feng said. "Earlier, several people told me that the Five Great Families wouldn't let this go."

Mo Li Meng felt a bit embarrassed.

He was one of those people; he knew the Five Great Families well and had said they wouldn't let this go.

"In this world, it all comes down to strength," Commander Mo Li Xao said. "Now, a complete intelligence report on you from the Yan Feng Pavilion costs a full 5,000 Cosmic Sands. Naturally, the Five Great Families must respect your power."

When they understood his strength, the leaders of the Five Great Families realized one thing: In Hu Yang City, the City Lord's Mansion and the Shiguo forces represented two extremes, and they fought fiercely. In the past, there was one force that remained aloof and untouched by either side—the Yan Feng Pavilion. But now, in Hu Yang City, in addition to the Yan Feng Pavilion, there was another—Luo He God!